Kameria
Kameria is a federal republic in north eastern Belle’Ayn that recently came out of a long, bloody period of civil war. In modern times, the newly unified nation seeks to prove themselves to the international community. It consists of 5 Provinces (Cre’baile, Flusserdorf, Grenze, Neue Iowa, and Wulfmont) and the capital district, Stampa. History Founding Kameria was founded from Spring Mills, Iowa, USA. A small, ethnically German immigrant town that came through a rift some hundreds of years before the events of Fireteam. Thankfully, the town landed by a river, allowing them easy travel to the outside world. On top of that, they made landfall to Erdezwei right as the winter season was about to end. The proto-Kamerians had time to establish themselves before the next freeze, but not much. The handful of farms that had come along with Spring Mills kicked into high gear to produce any and all edible crops, household artisans produced anything they could that would increase chances of survival through the winter, and the young and hardy were sent out into the surrounding woods to find additional resources. As luck would have it, lumber and fire materials were abundant, and there was plenty of game to harvest. It seemed Spring Mills would survive a winter or two, but if they wanted to thrive, they’d have to make contact with the locals. Such a task wouldn’t be much of an issue, had it not been for the language barrier. Simple requests and ideas could be expressed with body language, but any agreements or trading would require an interpreter. Enter Gabriel Newstead. Ballad of Gabe Newstead As luck would have it, there lived a man in Spring Mills who could get the job done, but he hadn’t been seen outside his home in months. In his years spent studying linguistics, Gabe became something of a running gag with the others of Spring Mills. “Gabeing” became synonymous with having your head in the clouds and being absorbed in the abstract. The constant mockery soon proved to be too much for Gabe, and he began to spend any time he could away from other people. Leaving only to purchase supplies or work as a night shift janitor. Many tried to coax him out after the jump, but few attempts made any progress. The community had never come to his aid, so he saw no reason to help them. His own linguistic study was useless when disconnected with the world of languages he’d spent years studying, and frankly, in his mind, the idea of the town that had shunned him starving and freezing to death was almost satisfying. This changed when one townsman had the idea to bring a local to his front door. Gabriel didn’t believe their claims of a new language to study at first, but when he heard the local speak he came down from his study just because this was either the real deal, or a solid enough ruse that the prankster had earned a reaction from Gabe. Gabe opened his front door, saw a primitively-clad and fur covered man, and immediately invited them in. Townsman and local. Gabriel cycled through a few Indo-European languages he’d studied, hoping to at least get a confused reaction from the native. His gambit paid off, and Gabe found that the locals spoke a language with enough similarities to the Gaelic languages that they could try to communicate. The townsman left the pair to establish rapport, and over the course of the evening, Gabriel figured out simple sentences in the local language. With the language barrier cracked, Gabriel began to accept payment for lessons in this new language, equipping Spring Mills with the one tool missing from their survival kit. Expansion As Flusserdorf became more and more crowded, the people of what would become Kameria began to expand outwards and into the lands surrounding them. As the Kamerians attempted to found settlements across the Stiftungfluss (The Kamerian name for the river on their northwest border) they were met with fierce dragon and native attacks. Though Kameria was capable of shipping cargo up and down the river, they had a hard time getting people across the way in sufficient numbers and quick enough to keep these settlements populated and adequately defended. Most were abandoned after only a few months. Seeing that crossing the Sift was next to impossible, the Flusserdorfans instead expanded southward and eastward. Those leaving the Flusserdorfan woods were faced with three options: Expand into the mountains, expand into the swamps, or expand into the desert. The choices made would forge nations. Today, the expansionary period is romanticized in Seidlerfilme. Or “Settler movies”. These films are similar to the American Western films such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly or They Call Me Trinity in that they often deal with frontier justice and lawlessness. The Five Principalities and Cold War As the people of what would become Kameria expanded to borders similar to what is seen today, villages formed alliances, and those alliances formed alliances, until there were five nations. These five countries became the states seen today: Grenze, Flusserdorf, Neue Iowa, Cre’baile, and Wulfmont. Flusserdorf: is where many opted to stay as others went out to expand and settle. Grenze: While many opted to stay in the relatively mild Flusserdorf and it’s surrounding territories, braver souls forged on into the dry frontier, and eventually discovered the Holte River among the sand and rock. Neue Iowa: was formed by those who had pushed on past the swamps, desert, and mountains to find fertile, flat land in the south. At the end of their long, arduous journeys, many decided to settle down Cre’baile: ''' '''Wulfmont: Those who desired to expand directly east pushed forward into mountainous terrain, taking with them dogged determination, stamina, and dreams of a quiet, rural life in the valleys. These five principalities coexisted for a century or two, occasionally getting into small scale wars or forming fleeting alliances, though there was largely a culture of uneasy peace among the principalities. Ordro-Kamerian War As the five nations fought and traded and became involved in their own intrigue, Ordromk, an orkish nation to the north in Terrestria, planned an invasion. The war began with an attack on the city of Basel, an important trade post to the Kamerian region. In response, the local states convened to form the Kamerre Schutzkoalition or the Kamerian Defense Coalition. -Kamerian states form a Coalition to fend off Ordromk -Island battles -Mainland invasion of Ordromk -Ordromk gets swallowed by a rift, taking a few thousand Kamerians and materials with it. The end result of this war was a stronger sense of unity among the people of the Kamerian region, planting the seeds for... Unification Revolution found in all 5 Kingdoms led by Erhard von Kammer. Erhard was the son of a Flusserdorfan senator who joined the army and rose to the rank of colonel. During a skirmish against Grenze for toll tax rights over a valley pass between the two states, Erhard was accused of treason under circumstances still unknown to this day and subsequently fled to his enemy’s territory to join their ranks. Rioter: The Clankening Riots began in cities throughout the Kamerian states as the populace began to grow tired of the infighting and cold war and flock to a Kamerian federalist movement. The riots started as peaceful demonstrations that were brutally put down by local law enforcement. This lead to retaliation characterized by the rioters banging bits of rebar against their makeshift shields. Thus, “clanking” became synonymous with any government protest action. ''Die RevolutionsHeer'' After a military crackdown on the clankers, those who managed to escape got together, organized, and formed'' Die RevolutionsHeer'', or the Revolutionary Army. The resistance officially began in Grenze with the signing of the Riesenbeck Declaration and capture of an arsenal in the same town. With this action, federalists came in droves to the humble riverside town until They had raised enough soldiers to form Die RevolutionsHeer under the command of a young Erhard von Kammer. (add additional details here.) Once Flusserdorf and Grenze were under revolutionary control, the State of Neue Iowa made a congressional decision to join the new union of it's own volition in a 25 yay, 22 nay vote. Thusis, however, was far from being so accepting of a unification. A group of Native Kamerian clans came together to form the Crebailan Movement for an Imperial Nation (individuals came to be known as Cremins) as a counterforce to the RevolutionsHeer. Wulfmont was the last to be conquered, but after 5 years of guerilla warfare in the mountains and valleys as well as naval barrages and blockading, Wulfmont conceded and joined the Kamerian union. A good part of the revolutionary army was Die Kamere Fremdenlegion. Or the Kamerian Foreign Legion. Modern day After the treaty with a battered Wulfmont, the process of repairing what was lost could begin. The military went through some standardization, assets were pooled, and diplomatic tensions were settled one by one. On to the present day; there’s a separatist sect in pretty much every state of the union, though it’s strongest in the recently conquered Wulfmont. Economy Kameria is a capitalist nation with a moderately regulated market. Kameria has been endowed with a slightly above average number of raw materials in it’s home borders, and vast fields to grow crops on. Thanks to their vast swaths of easily farmed land, Kameria’s primary export is food items. With the recent arrival of Rotan to Rigel Prima, Kameria has also been exporting many more of their popular "HM-25" power suit. Prized by it's usersnot only for the enhanced strength and agility it provides, but for the vast market of custom parts and addons for the system. These include armor plating, jet/jump packs, in-helmet heads-up displays, and just about any kind of body gear you could think of.. Other popular exports include Kamerian personal arms, such as the symbolic Von Sayer Revolving Carbine. Outside the realm of military technology, Kameria is also a leading producer of wheat. What most will associate Kamerian products with, however, is their massive assortment of carbonated soft drinks. "Kamerian Soda" carries the same connotations in BLN as "Belgian Chocolate" would in the real world. Culture Traditionally, Kameria has been a nation of hard working, inventive, and freedom-loving people. ''Schutzenfest'' Since around the mid expansion period, Kamerian folks needed a way to practice with their weapons and an incentive to get better. Eventually a few towns got together and organized a tradition from the old countries: Schutzenfest. Today, the tradition survives as more of a celebration of history and an entertainment event than for protection. The biggest of these festivals is held in Stampa on an annual basis in the summer. Soda Fountains If there's one thing that Kamerians love, it's their sodas. Just about any given town will have at least one soda fountain establishment, failing that, there will be a soda fountain at a bar or diner. Bar owners have found a lucrative business model in operating as a soda fountain during daylight hours, drawing in families and youth looking for a place to chat and enjoy low-cost snacks and drinks, but shifting their focus to the bar at nightfall. As the bar takes center stage, the soda fountain remains open to appeal to tea-totals and designated drivers. In fact, a group's designated driver will often be given a wristband allowing them to receive either free or deeply discounted soft drinks, but forbids them form ordering alcohol during that visit. ''Traditional values'' The values of the Kamerian people have been present in some form or another since Flusserdorf originally came through the rift. Many carrying over from the treacherous early years of Kameria's arrival to Belle-'Ayn. Endurance: Being under assault by a gigantic flying species really makes one value a sense of hardiness to get you through the worst of times. Thrift: Kameria as a nation would have fallen in a few generations had it not been for wise business agreements made with the locals. Thus, the Kamerian people have a tradition of shrewdness. Valor: It takes a lot of guts to take on a dragon, even if you have friends with you and your lives depend on it Freedom: This value was largely a relic of Kameria’s heritage stemming from the United States, but became very relevant during the era of the RevolutionsHeer. Politics Kameria is a republic very similar to the United States. As such, it has three branches of government: The Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. One major issue that divides Kamerians is the issue of Province Sovereignty. One faction supports the idea of a federal Kamerian government since it consolidates the power of each province and allows easier defense of the region. The other sees it as an unwanted, unnecessary restriction of each province’s power to self govern. ''Provinces'' Flusserdorf is the OG of the Kamerian principalities. Flusserdorfan territory is largely wooded and hilly, and overall quite similar to New England in the US. The people of Flusserdorf are often stereotyped to be a bit entitled and arrogant; feeling that their status as the original principality grants them special rights. However, they're also well known to be a highly accepting and open people dispite their occasional conceit. Grenze is the dry desert heartland of Kameria. Though the province is mostly dry and rocky, it is also home to the River Holte and it’s primary source, which the natives call'' Osai’loch''. Along it’s shores the city of An Versa rose as a center of entertainment and vice, but also features a strong petroleum mining industry. Neue Iowa is a largely flat, agricultural state and the southernmost of the Kamerian principalities. Neue Iowans are a bit more relaxed and friendly than the average Kamerian. Not unlike those living in the southeast of the United States. Though that’s not to say they have a poor work ethic, nor are they pushovers. Stampa (Federal District) is the capital district of federal Kameria and an enclave inside Flusserdorf. It consists mostly of the city of the same name, a few surrounding suburbs, and some of the surrounding foothills. The city itself is situated in a valley between some foothills of the more mountainous portion of Flusserdorf. Cre’baile, (also known as Das Feuchtgebiet to most and Dass Nas Drecksloch to it’s detractors), is the province where the culture of the native Kamerians is at it’s strongest. Crebailan geography is characterized by it’s wetlands and humidity in the summer. During the unification wars, a heavily nationalist and imperial faction rose to power there that employed ruthless tactics against the RevolutionsHeer that we would call “war crimes” today. To this day, Cre’baile is trying to prove it isn’t like that anymore. Wulfmont is set in a mountain range in the northeast of Kameria, Wulfmonters are known for being a bit more grim and hardy than their already toughened brethren in the other Kamerian states, but when it comes time to relax and unwind, the Wulfmonters can party pretty hard. Wulfmont is also host to Nachhall Tal National Park, which consists of the wide, scenic valley created through Wulfmont by the Holte River. Foreign Relations: (To be determined) Military Kameria has a technologically advanced, professional defensive military force. Due to their situation of being largely on flat terrain (besides the two northernmost provinces), their forces are concerned with hitting things at a long distance, and thus, Kamerian artillery technology has become quite reputable. The air force often gets into aerial spats with dragons. These dragons emit an electromagnetic field that interferes with missile and guidance systems, often limiting pilots to the mounted machine gun. This field also lets the air force know where dragons are flying, and launch a fighter to intercept them. These fighters, called JagdDrachen, Were designed specifically with counter-draconic operations in mind. Before the age of Kamerian aviation, the primary means of shooting dragons down was artillery pieces made into improvised flak cannons. Kamerian cities would often be walled off with the latest available artillery along the battlements to provide protection from dragon raids. Due to the urgency of developing new technology, Kamerian cannons became more and more advanced quite rapidly. By 1846, Kameria had revolving, rifled cannons that could hit a dragon half a mile out. Category:Locations